Bail stacker



Apl 3o, 1940.

F. REDMAN BAIL STCKER Filedsept. 9, 1938 3 SheetsSheet l Weak Redman April 30,1940. F. REDMAN BAIL STACKER Filed sept. 9, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Srl/umm Wan/ 'Redman April 30, 1940. F. REDMAN 2,198,949

BAIL STACKER Filed sept. 9, 1938 s sheets-sheet :s

Z/70%# ,Redman 5m im Patented Apr. 30, v194() BAIL s'rAcKER Frank Redman, Washington, Pa.,

assignor to Hazel-Atlas Glass Company, Wheeling, W. Va., a corporation of West Virginia v Application September 9, 1938, Serial No. 229,227

1.1 Claims.

' The invention relates to a device for stacking bails, which are subsequently assembled with jars or buckets to form handles. vl-Ieretofore the balls, as manufactured, were merely dropped into boxes or the like, and hence the mass of balls would become entangled. The result was that when the bails were to be taken out oneby one for' assemblywith a jar or bucket considerable time would be lost in disengaging the bails from each other.

The present invention provides means by which the bails are stacked on holders, which prevents any entangling of the balls, and from which holders they can be quickly removed for assembly with the containers. y Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, from the following detailed description,y when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which, Figure `1 is a perspective view of the apparatus. Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective View of the apparatus, with the bail holder mounted thereon. Figure'S `isa perspective view of one of the bail holders before it has been shaped to t the stacker.

Figure 4 lisv a perspective viewfof one of the holders after it has been stacked with bails, and removed from the stacking apparatus.

Figure 5 is a vertical, longitudinal, sectional View of the apparatus.

Figure 6 is a vertical, transverse sectional view, taken on lineG--6, of. Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a plan view of the stacking end of the apparatus, with parts broken away to more clearly show the construction. l j

Figure 8` is a. perspective view of a modified form of the invention.

Figure 9 is a transverse sectional View of the apparatus shown in Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a vertical, longitudinal, sectional I View of another'inodied form of the invention;

and

Figure 11 is a vertical, transverse, sectional View, taken on line I I-II of Figure 10.

Referring to the drawings in more detail, numeral I indicates a metal chute which leads from a bail forming machine. Such machine forms no part of the present invention, and it is therefore merely illustrated diagrammatically in Figure 1,` where it referred to by! the numeral V2.

The chute I is preferably substantially semicylindricalin cross section, and is ofthe general shape of the bails `3, so that'the inturned ends chute.

The bails, as formed by the formingmachine, drop onto the chute, and travel down the chute until they are intercepted b-y a stop. In the form of the invention illustrated in Figures l to '7, this stop vconsists of'a leaf spring 4 which normally projects upwardly into the path of the oncoming' of the balls fit loosely underthe edges of the' crosssection, and which has its upper end pro-4 vided with a head 6 which is mountedin the lower end of the chute. This head maybe provided with. a' brace I to 'aid in the support of the metal form. l

Particularly by reference to Figures 5, 6 and '7, it `will be noted that the lower end portion of the chute is reduced inv thickness, asfindicated by numeral', to provide an annular space 9, to receive one end of the bail holder, as will appear more clearly hereinafter. The lower end of the chute also has inwardly and 'upwardly-'turned flanges IQ, to receive the lower edges of the forf ward portion of the bail holder.

The lower end of the metal form is closed by aplate II. The upper portion of the plate isl cut away, as indicated by numeral I2, andvadjacent thereto the metal form is cut away, as indicated by numeral I3. These cut-away portions permit the insertion of the fingers to remove'the loaded b ailholder from the metal form.

Numeral I4 refers to a rod o-r shaft which is rotatably and slidably mounted in a bearing provided -in the plate I I. This shaft is formed with an upwardlyprojeoting portion I4', and attached thereto is a gate member I5,l having an operating handlel.

This gate member, when in inoperative position, assumes the position shownv inligure 1, so that a loaded holder can be removed from the metal form. When another holder has been applied to the form, the gate is rotated to the position shown in Figures 2, 5 and '7; as will appear more clearly hereinafter.

The shaft I4 projects through an opening provided in the head 6, and on the opposite side of the head a coil spring I'l is mounted on the shaft, wherebythe shaft is urged to the right (Fig. 1)".

be loaded or stacked with bails.

Of course the b-ail holder may be made of any desired material, but cardboard is preferred. Figure 3 shows a flat piece of cardboard I8, ready tobe formed into a holder I9. The right hand end of the cardboard is preferably slightly tapered, as indicated by numeral 20.

To form a holder, it is only necessary to grasp the piece of cardboard, and bend it to substantially semi-cylindrical shape, so that it is ready to be'applied to the metal form, as illustrated in Figure 1.

To apply the holder I9 to the form, the leading end of the holder is inserted in the annular space S and in the supporting anges I B, and the holder is then pushed as farforward as possible, to the position shown most clearly in Figures 5 and '7. During this movement, the tapered edges 2B, riding in the flanges Il), cause the holder to be securely clamped in position.

The gate member I 5 is now rotated to its operative or locking position, as shown in Figures 2, 5 and '7. It will be noted by reference to Figure 5, that the cardboard holder I9 projects slightly beyond the lower end of the metal form 5,' so that when the gate is rotated to its locking position it will engage the end of the holder and clamp it in position; it being understood, of

course, that the gate is urged to the right (Figl) against the holder, by means of the coil spring Il. The leading end of the gate member is preferably bent slightly outwardly, as indicated by numeral v2l, so that the gate will engage' the holder with a clamping or wedging action.

The cardboard holder is now in place ready to These bails are already assembled on the chute, as previously described, andthe operator can by one movement push. from the chute, onto the cardboard holder, the number of bails suflicient to substantially lill the holder. Of course the pressure of the operators hand against the bails will be suii'lcient to depress the spring 4, so that the bails: are free to pass from the chute to the holder. The spring then snaps back into its operating position and prevents the passage of any more bailsuntil another holder is in position to be loaded.

'IoY remove the loaded holder from the form it is only necessary to rotate the gate to its inoperative position, insert the lingers in the spaces I 2 and I3 to grasp the holder, and slide it oil?` the form. A loaded holder, removed from the stacking apparatus, is shown in Figure 4. The bails are `held on the holder by reason of the inturned ends of the bails engaging under the lower edges of the holder. The holders, after being loaded, are carried to a place of sto-rage until ready for use. When the bails are to be attached to the containers they may be easily and readily removed one by one, without any danger of their becoming entangled.

In Figures 8 and 9, a modified form of the invention is illustrated. This modified form is substantially the same as that previously described, except that it includes means for automatically releasing the bails from the chute when thegate is moved to operative position, and for retaining the bails kon the chute when the gate is moved to inoperative position.

By reference to Figures 8 and 9, it will be noted that the chute I, adjacent the lower end, is provided with a transverse slot 22, and that a iinger 23 attached to the shaft I4 is adapted to operate in the slot.

As shown in Figure 8, the iinger is so positioned on the shaft that when. the gate I5 is in operative position the linger is below the slot, and hence the bails are free to pass onto the holder I9. After the bails have been stacked on the holder, the gate is swung to inoperative position to release the holder, and this rotation of the shaft I4 causes the finger 23 to be moved to the position shown in full lines in Figure 9, Where the iinger projects through the slot intoy the path of the bails. l

The modied form shown in Figures and 11 employs a somewhat different structure for automatically releasing the bails from the chute when the gate is moved to operative position.

In this form the gate I5 is mounted on a stub shaft 24 which is rotatably and slidably mounted in the plate II. A cam 25 is fixed to the inner end of the stub shaft, and a coil spring 26 normally urges the shaft and gate to the right (Fig. l0), to clamp the gate against the holder I9.

A lever 21 is pivotally mounted in a hanger 21 carried by the metal form 5. The lower portion of the lever passes through a guide bracket 28 and the end of the lever engages under the cam 25. This end of the lever is held against the cam by a coil spring 29.

The other arm of the lever passes through a guide bracket 3B, and the end of the lever carries a pin 3l which is adapted to project loosely through openings provided in the form 5 and the chute I.

When the gate is in its operative position, as shown in Figure l0, the linger 3l is depressed to permit the bails to pass from the chute tothe holder I9. But when the gate is rotated to its inoperative position, to release the loaded holder, the cam` 2.5 is rotated therewith, and this rotation of the cam moves the left hand end (Fig. l0) of the lever downwardly, thereby elevating the right hand` end of the lever andprojecting the pin 3| into the path of the bails o-n the chute I..

The invention disclosed herein greatly facilitates the step of assembling the bails with the containers, such as jars, buckets and similar` articles, as it wholly avoids the delay caused by untangling the bails during the assembling operation. And of course the assembling operator can work much faster by reason of the fact that all of the bails are uniformly arranged, and are in the exact position to be app-lied tothe containers.

While I have illustrated several embodiments of the invention, and have described the structures in considerable detail, yet it will be apparent that the structures shown may be Widely changed and modified without departing from the spirit of the invention, and all such changes and modiiications are intended to be included withinthe scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. An apparatus for stacking bails, including a chute adapted to receive bails from a bail forming machine, said bails having inturned endsprojecting under the chute, a bail holder upon which the bails are to be .stacked with the inturned ends of the bails projecting under the holder, a form associated With the chute, said bail holder and' form having substantially the curvature of the fbails, and means for removably mountingl the bail holder on the form in enveloping` relation thereto, in position to receive the bails from the chute.

2. An apparatus for stacking bails, including a chute adaptedto receive bails from a bail forming machine, said bails having inturned ends projectingy under the chute,l a llexible cardboard bail holder upon which the bails are to be stacked with the inturned ends of the bails projectingi under the holder, said cardboard being flexed to substantially the curvature of the Ihails, and means for associating the. cardboard holder with the chute and maintaining it in its flexed condition,

in position to receive the bails therefrom.

3. An apparatus for stacking bails, including a chute adapted to receive bails from a bail forming machine, said bails having inturned ends projecting under the chute, means for accumulatingA bails on the rchute, a form associatedl with the chute, a bail holder upon which the bails are to be stacked with the inturned ends of the bails projecting under the holder, said holder adapted to be mounted on the form in enveloping relation thereto, and means for clamping the holder in position while the bails are being stacked thereon.'

4. An apparatus for stacking bails, including a form substantially semi-cylindrical in cross section, a bail holder adapted to be fitted to said form in enveloping relation thereto, in position to receive the bails, and means forpermitting the removal of the holder and bails from the form after the holder has been loaded. l

5. An apparatus for stacking bails, including a form substantially semi-cylindrical in cross section, a flexible holder adapted to be flexed to the shape of said form and be fitted thereon in enveloping relation thereto, means for arranging bails in position to be stacked on the iiexible holder, and means for permitting the removal of the holder from the form after the holder has been loaded.

6. An apparatus for stacking bails, including a chute adapted to receive bails from a bail forming machine, said bails having inturned lends, ay

spring adjacent the end of the chute, said spring normally projecting into the path of the bails to cause them to be accumulated on the chute, a bail holder upon which the bails are to be stacked with the inturned ends of the bails projecting under the holder, said holder being substantially semi-cylindrical in cross-section, means for mounting the holder in positionto receive the' bails from the chute, said spring being depressedl as the bails are pushed from the chute onto the holder.

7. An apparatus for stacking bails, including a chute adapted to receive bails from a bail forming machine, a metal form associated with the lower end of the chute, the form being curved at substantially the curvature of the bails, a bail holder adapted' to be mounted on the form the bail holder being curved at substantially the curvature of the bails, a gate at. the forward end of the form, and means urging the gate toward the hail holder.

8. An apparatus for stacking bails, including a chute adapted to receive bails from a bail forming machine, a bail holder mounted in alignment with said chute, a stop for accumulating the Abails on the chute, a gate to aid in positioning the bails on the bail holder, and means for rendering said stop ineffective when said gate is moved to operative position.l

chute adapted to receive bails from a bail forming n `machineja bail holder mounted in valignment with said chute, a finger movable into the path of the bails for accumulating them on the chute, a gate to aid in positioning the bails on the bail holder, and means for moving the ringer Ato inoperative position when the gate is moved to operative position.'`

10. An apparatus for stacking bails, including a chute Aadapted to receive bails from a bail forming kmachine, a bail holder mounted in alignment with said'chute, a 'ngerrotatable into the path ,of the bails for accumulating them on the chute, `,a rotatable gate to aid in positioning the bails on the bail holder, and a connection between the gate and finger causing the finger to be rotated to inoperative 4position as the gate is rotated to operative position.

11. An apparatus for stacking bails, including a chute adapted to receive bails from a bail forming machine, a bail holder mounted in alignment with said chute, a pin adapted to be elevatedintolthe path of the bails for accumulating them on the chute, a rotatable gate to aid in positioning the bails on the bail holder, a vcam rotatable with the gate, a lever pivotally mounted between its ends,

one end of said leverbeing operatively associated with said cam, and the other end of the lever carrying said pin, and the parts so arranged that the rotation o f the gate to its operative position causes the pin yto be lowered out of the path of v the bails on the chute. l

FRANK REDMAN. 

